Overview on the Recent Effects and Initiatives

ABSTRACT

India’s increasing use of digital technologies has raised concerns about cybercrime in the country. Online fraud, identity theft, cyberstalking, and data breaches are just a few of the cybercrimes that have increased in India. India has been exposed to cyberattacks as a result of the quick uptake of digital platforms and the general lack of user understanding regarding cybersecurity.

The National Cyber Security Policy and a National Cyber Coordination Center are just two of the actions the Indian government has taking to combat the problem of cybercrime. The Information Technology (IT) Act was also passed by the government in order to sanction cybercriminals and give legal status to electronic transactions. Despite these efforts, cybercrime continues to pose a significant threat to individuals, businesses, and the overall economy in India. It is important for individuals and organizations to take proactive measures to protect themselves against cyber threats, including educating themselves on best practices for online safety and working with cybersecurity professionals to implement robust security measures.

Keywords – Cyber threats, NCCC, India, Cybercriminals, Digital platforms, Information Technology Act, Security Measures

INTRODUCTION

Humans build societies, form communities, and build new personalities within these communities. However, communities clash and hold resentment toward each other and conflicts rise within this society this leads to crime within the society where the same people who have built these societies among themselves have now turned against each other. Humans have a tendency, sometimes selfishness or greed to want for themselves more than what the other person could have or get and since their desires and wants are not given to them they take them by force.

Crime has taken many forms it does not just exist in low-class communities and people who come from a lower class as it was once said to be taken place on it is now being seen in the elite society – having white-collar crimes and financial crimes. Crime can take place from an individual to an organization. Technology has been presented in new ways, it has brought us the internet, given us a new feature of showing our personality it has all our personal and sensitive information which sometimes even we do not know of.

Any act which violates the provisions of criminal law(s) and attract sanction(s) and committed, prepared, investigated or executed by the use of knowledge of computer and technology, falls under the ambit of cybercrimes.¹

Cybercrime is a criminal activity committed by hackers or cybercriminals, they often target personal computers, computer networks, or networked devices. Their main motive and aim are to solely make a profit by stealing people’s identities and making huge sums of money. Modern-day crimes that range from blackmail, embezzlement, fraud, and forgery that have come up in recent times are all conducted on the internet today through cyber networks and computers ²

An important aspect about cybercrime is that it does not necessarily have a particular jurisdiction, it can happen miles away from you, sometimes a crime could also take place from other states to other countries.³

LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Kim, C., Newberger, B., & Shack, B. (2012). Computer crimes. Am. Crim. L. Rev., 49, 443.

2 Kaspersky.M , 2020

3 Kaushik, S, Gupta, D, Kharb.L, & Chahal, D. (Eds.), 2017

the quick uptake of digital platforms and the general lack of user understanding regarding cybersecurity⁴

Cybercrime is a fast-growing digital crime and legislation falling behind with the fast-moving advancement of technology. One important factor projected by literature in combating cybercrime is legislation. In order to combat cybercrime, the role of cybercrime legislation is a challenge that has not been clearly studied before. This paper thus aims to recapitulate the literature on cybercrime legislation in combating cybercrime. The literature in this context emphasises on existing studies relating to cybercrime legislation and addressing the importance of adequate and efficient responses in place in order to combat cybercrime efficiently⁵

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The present research paper is based on the secondary data and the review of literature. The secondary data was gathered from a variety of online periodicals, bare act, the ministry of electronics and computer technology, and other relevant websites. This information has been categorized into cybercrimes and Indian cyberlaw.

I. CYBERCRIME: A CHALLENGE TO THE NATION

In India, there has been a continuous increase in cybercrime cases over the past five years. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) estimates that there will be 50,035 incidents of cybercrime registered in 2020, up from 12,317 cases in 2016.

In 2018, 27, 248 cases of cybercrime were registered in India, according to the latest national crime records bureau NCRB data⁶

In the same year, 1205 cybercrime cases in Telangana were reported.

According to the FBI research, India is one of the top 20 victims of cybercrime. Since the central government launched the national cybercrime reporting system. In the previous year, 33,152 complaints were submitted, resulting in the filing of 790 FIRs.

In fact, a 2017 analysis found that cybercrime cost Indian consumers more than 18 billion US dollars. In the country, there were almost 27,000 reports of cybercrime in 2018, up more than 121% from the number of incidences in the previous year.⁷

The Indian government, however, has taken steps to address cybercrime by enacting laws such as the Information Technology Act, of 2000, which criminalizes a range of online offenses and

4 Dani.K, 2022

5 Khan.S , Dorasamy.M, Leng.O , 2022

6 ICICCT 2017, New Delhi, India, May 13, 2017, Revised Selected Papers (Vol. 750). Springer.

7 Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. (n.d.), https://www.meity.gov.in/content/icert

prescribes punishments for offenders. Additionally, the government has established organizations such as the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team.

Despite these measures, cybercrime remains a significant challenge in India. The country has seen a rise in cases of cyber fraud, with scammers targeting individuals and businesses through phishing emails and fake websites. Social media platforms have also been used to spread fake news and propaganda, leading to concerns about the impact on democratic processes⁸

II. REASONS FOR INCREASING CYBERCRIME IN INDIA

Limited capacity: The ability of enforcement agencies to investigate cybercrime is still limited. Up until now, India’s approach to cyber security has been haphazard and unorganized. Since “police” and “public order” are on the State List, States have the primary responsibility for reducing crime and building the appropriate cyber. The central government is also jointly responsible for creating uniform statutory procedures for the enforcement agencies even though centrally enacted
Lack of international cooperation: international support and consensus is still lacking.
Growing dependence on technology: Information and communication technology (ICT) is used more often than before, which is causing cybercrime to rise even more. Even remote and rural areas in India have access to the internet and network services. Further digital inequities have been revealed because of growing digital dependence in the post-COVID era.
No separate procedural code- exists for the investigation of computer- or cyber-related offenses.
Shortage of technical staff: The States have made inconsistent attempts to hire technical personnel for the investigation of cybercrime A conventional police officer who has studied literature, business, the arts, or management may not be able to comprehend the subtleties of how a computer or the Internet functions.
The general public’s low level of digital literacy and the digital divides between nations lead to an unsustainable online environment⁹

1II. IMPACTS OF CYBERCRIME IN THE ECONOMY

All governments and economies that are connected to the Internet have already suffered the effects of cybercrime and will continue to do so in the future. As long as the financial rewards exceed the negative effects of being detected, criminals will use the Internet, computers, and other digital gadgets to facilitate their unlawful activities. Governments and businesses must be aware of the scope of cybercrime and its financial impact since this information may be used to modify institutional capacity as well as legal and regulatory frameworks. In order to stay up

8 Cybercrime. (n.d.)., https://cybercrime.gov.in/

9Rout. S (2008), Network Interferences, Forensic Cybercrimes

to date on this most recent approach to fighting crime, prosecutors and law enforcement organizations need to have the tools, training, and resources necessary to address cybercrime.

The magnitude and effects of this crime are uncertain because it wasn’t reported. Particularly in light of the participation of organized crime, this is important. If any data from India’s crime statistics are accessible, it does not accurately reflect the scale of the crime or the harm it has caused. The government is also concerned about the various reasons why corporations and private people choose not to report cybercrime.

It is known that cybercrime can result in huge losses. Losses include not only actual monetary losses but also required investments in cyber security and damage to reputation from incidents. It’s crucial to provide direction in that situation¹⁰

IV. TYPES OF CYBERCRIMES MOST PREVALENCE IN INDIAN

1) Assault by Threat – threatening a person with fear for their lives or the lives of their families or persons whose safety they are responsible for (such as employees or communities) through the use of a computer network such as email, videos, or phones.

Child pornography – the use of computer networks to create, distribute, or access materials that sexually exploit underage children.
Cyber laundering – electronic transfer of illegally obtained monies with the goal of hiding its source and possibly its destination.
Cyber stalking – express or implied physical threats that creates fear through the use of computer technology such as email, phones, text messages, webcams, websites or videos.
Cyber terrorism – premeditated, usually politically motivated violence committed against civilians through the use of, or with the help of, computer technology.
Cyber theft is using a computer to steal. This includes activities related to: breaking and entering, DNS cache poisoning, embezzlement and unlawful appropriation, espionage, identity theft, fraud, malicious hacking, plagiarism, and piracy.
- Hardware Hijacking – Researchers at Columbia University recently discovered a serious security flaw in certain printers, as well. Many printers automatically update their software when accepting
- Spam – Unsolicited mass e-mail, known colloquially as ―spam‖, is more than annoying: spam messages can be used to trick people into giving up sensitive personal information known as phishing, or as carriers for computer worms and viruses. (Shinder, D.L.,2002)
- Script kiddies-Also known as wannabe hacker. Someone who wants to be a hacker (or thinks they are) but lacks any serious technical expertise. They are usually only able to attack very weakly secured systems.

10 Saini.H, Rao.Y, Panda. T― Cybercrime and their Impact A Review‖ IJERA March 2012, Vol 2 P.P No 201-206

Insiders- They may only be 20% of the threat, but they produce 80% of the damage. These attackers are considered to be the highest risk. To make matters worse, as the name suggests, they often reside within an organization
Yahoo Attack- Also called 419 because section 419 of the Indian criminal code has a law against such offenders. It is characterized by using e-mail addresses obtained from the Internet access points using e-mail address harvesting applications (web spiders or e-mail extractor). These tools can automatically retrieve-mail addresses from web pages. Indian fraud letters join the warning of impersonation scam with a variation of an advance fee technique in which an e-mail from Indian offers the recipient the chance to share a percentage of a huge amount of money that the author, a self-proclaimed government official, is trying to siphon out of the country
Salami Attack- Alami assaults are flamboyant economic scams or exploits against confidentiality by comprehensive data gathering.

V. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES TO TACKLE CYBER CRIME IN INDIA

The Indian computer emergency response team (CERT-IN) – It serves as the national agency in charge of addressing the nation’s cybersecurity and has made a significant contribution to reducing the frequency of cyberattacks on government networks.¹¹
Information Technology Act, 2000 (Amended in 2008)- it is the law and main legislation that deals with cybercrime in India.
Apps that pose a security hazard have been banned in India. – Several apps, primarily of Chinese origin, that were deemed harmful for Indian residents to use were prohibited by India.
Guidelines from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS): The general guidelines for the identification, collection, acquisition, and preservation of digital evidence are fairly comprehensive and simple to understand for both the first responder (who may be an authorized and trained police officer of a police station) and the specialist (who has specialised knowledge, skills and the abilities to handle a wide range of technical issues).
Center for Coordination of Indian Cybercrime (I4C)- to serve as a hub for the battle against cybercrime and to refrain from using the web to support extreme and terrorist organizations
National Center for the Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure (NCIIPC) – It is a central government organization created to safeguard crucial Indian information that has a significant impact on public health, economic development, and national security.
In 2018, the Central Armed Police Force-inspired Cyber Warrior Police Force was established.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) introduced Cyber Surakshith Bharat- in 2018 with the goal of raising awareness of cybercrime and enhancing the

11 Criminal Investigation Department Review, January 2 (Mis Cyber Crime Scenario In India Criminal Investigation Department Review January 19 , 2008

capacity of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all governmental departments for safety measures.

Judiciary Intervention: In July 2018, a five-judge group was established to write draft rules that might be used as a template for how courts could accept digital evidence. Proposed Regulations for the Receipt, Retrieval, Authentication, and Preservation of Electronic Documents, which were recommended by the committee, have not yet been given formal authority¹²

CONCLUSION AND THE WAY FORWARD

Cybercrime in India has grown a lot over the past couple of years. It can cause harm to many individuals; it may even pose a threat at a national level. India has witnessed a significant increase in cybercrimes in the country with data breaches, hacking, phishing attacks, and cyberbullying.

At this rate where cybercrime has spread worldwide and with even more advanced methods of hacking, cybercrime will not end that easily, however, it could still be prevented. Even though the government has set up a lot of initiatives, like the IT act and CERT–IN. The real problem of the increase in cyber-attacks is due to the lack of awareness, insufficient technical expertise and limited resources.

Awareness must be increased and each individual and business must stake extra precautions and must protect themselves by going to safer websites and must regularly check if there is a virus on the computer or not. Law enforcement must be trained, and the state government must have the capacity to deal with cybercrime. Cyber labs must be updated with advanced technology.

In conclusion, to combat cybercrime there must also be support from different countries at an international level and it would require the support of many businesses and experts so that we would be able to browse the internet safely.

12 Sonwalkar .P (2009), India emerging as centre for cybercrime: UK study

A STUDY ON CYBERCRIME IN INDIA